


Hands

by madame_alexandra



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Original Trilogy
Genre: F/M, Falling In Love, Movie: Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back, Romance, Trust, Vignette
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-01
Updated: 2021-01-01
Packaged: 2021-03-10 23:28:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 522
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28485390
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/madame_alexandra/pseuds/madame_alexandra
Summary: Vignette taking place in ESB, right when Lando reveals he's betrayed them - and Han reaches for Leia's hand. H/L. Very short.
Relationships: Leia Organa/Han Solo
Comments: 11
Kudos: 70





	Hands

**Author's Note:**

> a/n: goodbye, 2020. please let the door hit you on the way out.

_"Hands"_

_A Bespin Vignette_

* * *

There was a time in his life when he would have turned and ran. There was a time in his life when he would have ducked first, or even at the very least have reached for his weapon first – on reflex, on instinct; he would have immediately reacted to save his own life. Self-preservation was an innate drive; one he'd cultivated, survived on, for his entire life.

But when the doors flew open, and there was Vader, and his mind went blank and his vision blurred and his heart plummeted to the floor, heavy with the knowledge that they'd just been betrayed, seizing and convulsing with horror at the inescapability of the moment – he had a split second to react - _to react was always slower than to act_ , _there was a time in his life when he might have expected this, might have just shot through the door to test the waters_ \- and rather than reach for his blaster, he thrust his arm behind him and reached for her hand.

His blaster was in his other hand a split second later, but it didn't matter – it didn't escape his notice, it wasn't lost on him, that the first thing he did was reach for her hand – and that was a change in the way he was wired; it was a fundamental shift in the instincts that drove him. In a moment of unspeakable danger he was prompted, even unconsciously, to first reach for her, because he knew if he was scared, she was terrified, and he knew if this moment was his last, he wanted to be touching her, _clinging_ to her, when the darkness fell.

It said something. It said it all. He knew he'd had it bad for her, but he'd had it bad for other women. He knew he wanted her, but he'd wanted other women. And he knew he loved her, but he loved pretty freely, with feeling, if not with words – but reaching out for her, that was the moment it was irrevocable, undeniable, it was something else entirely – something lasting, and permanent. No going back, no holds barred; his most basic instinct now was to reach for her, step in front of her, be with her - at all costs.

His palm smacked into hers with a thunderous ache, because, _wouldn't you know it,_ she'd been reaching for him too; her fingers curled around his, she crouched behind him, slid her other hand into his belt, yanked on it hard – pulled herself to him, or him to her, and he felt her heartbeat pulse through the lines in her palm like lightening, through soft skin and shaking fingers, into his hand, through his veins, into his core – just a touch, just a feeling, nothing said, and yet the words were there – _I love you, I love you, I love you –_

It changed everything.

She squeezed his hand. He squeezed back, held tight. Her hand stopped shaking, and so did his.

He lifted his chin and said, to Lando –

"I'm sorry, too."

He held her hand. She held on.

They stepped into the room.

**Author's Note:**

> \- alexandra


End file.
